A Friend Sticks Close Like a Brother
by Beth Smith
Summary: The gang makes a day special for Ponyboy. Pony's POV


**Disclaimer: **The Outsiders are not mine.  
**A/N: **To Maesie-Mo, for I lovest you. I tried to write something non-depressing.

"Friday at last," I thought as I walked into my living room after a long day at school. I tossed my books on the table and walked out to our back yard.

Soda was grilling hamburgers and hot dogs and they smelled great. I have to admit though, I was kinda worried. I mean, Darry always does the grilling, and, well, Soda can get a little... creative... with the food.

"Hey, Soda," I said, plopping down in a yard chair. "What's goin' on?"

"Nothin'," Soda said. "The boys are comin' over. Evie, Sandy, and Sylvia, too. We're gonna eat and play football or somethin'."

"Evie and Sandy and Sylvia are gonna play football?" I asked. I didn't believe that.

Soda shrugged. "Maybe."

"Where'd you get the money for all this food?" I asked.

"The boss gave me and Soda a bonus for that overtime we worked last week on that rich lady's car."

I laughed. "And you're celebrating by using it all up to feed a pack of hoods and their girlfriends?"

"Hey, who you callin' a hood?" a familiar voice asked as Two-Bit poked his head around the corner.

"Hey, Two-Bit!" Soda said.

"Hey, Soda... Pony," he replied, a big cheerful grin on his face.

"You bring the stuff?" Soda asked.

Two-Bit replied by holding up a paper grocery store bag. "In here," he said.

"Good. Put it on the table, huh?" Soda said. "Go help him, Pony," he added, winking at me.

I followed Two-Bit in and helped him unload three six packs and a jar of mayonnaise. Good ol' Two-Bit. No party was complete for him without booze.

"Hey, Ponyboy, you ready for some football tonight?" Two-Bit asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah," I said. "But you won't be if you're soused."

"Aw, shoot, kid," he said with a shrug. "That's for after the game."

It was then that we heard another voice say, "Hey," and looked up to see Johnny Cade.

"Hey, Johnnycake!" Two-Bit said.

Johnny, too, carried a bag. I almost hugged him when he set his bag down and revealed two six-packs of Pepsi. My favorite drink in the world. He also had some stuff for the burgers and all.

I wondered how Johnnycake had come up with the money for all that. But when Dally came in, I figured it out. Dally had a pocket full from the last race he was in. Dally brought chips and some other stuff.

Steve and Darry were the last of the gang to show up, and Darry took over the grill. Steve had brought Evie, Sandy, and Sylvia. He and Evie started heating up some chili, while Dally sat down, letting Sylvia slice up the tomatoes and onions he'd brought.

I couldn't believe Sylvia did all the work while Dally was being lazy, but she probably owed him at least that much for the last time he was in jail. She'd run around on him. As always.

Sandy was in the kitchen with Sodapop, who was now frosting and decorating a cake. We never decorate cakes, but I figured Soda had gotten bored with just plain old chocolate cake and had decided it needed some color.

Dally lit a cigarette, then passed the pack to Johnny, who was busily setting out spoons for the mustard and stuff. Johnny took a cigarette and lit up, then passed the pack back to Dally. That reminded me that I hadn't smoked since lunch. I was getting really excited about hanging out with the guys, too, so my nerves would be shot soon enough if I didn't get a smoke in. So I got me a weed and lit up.

"Hey, Ponyboy," Soda called. "I forgot the hot dog buns."

"Yeah?" I replied, knowing he was going to send me to go get them.

"Yeah. You and Two-Bit go get some, huh?" Soda called back.

"OK," I called back.

Two-Bit yelled to Johnny and Dally, "Hey, come give me a push."

Dally rolled his eyes and stood up, followed by Johnny.

Me and Two-Bit climbed into his old beat up Plymouth, and Dally and Johnnycake got behind it to give us a push start.

Pretty soon, the two of us were at the store. I went in and got the buns while Two-Bit kept the car going so we wouldn't have to push it again.

I came back out, and Two-Bit drove back to my house and parked in the yard. We walked up to the door, and Two-Bit opened it for me with a gallant bow. "Ladies first," he said.

"Shut up, Two-Bit," I said, smacking him across the back of the head.

But I walked into the house anyway.

"Surprise!" I heard everyone yell.

I looked at Two-Bit. It wasn't his birthday. And it sure wasn't mine. Two-Bit was grinning like an idiot. "What's going on?" I asked.

Soda led me over to the table giddily. "Look, Pony!" he said, pointing at the cake on the table. It was decorated and said: "Congratulations on making the A track team, Ponyboy!"

I looked at Soda incredulously. "Y...You mean..."

"Yep!" Soda said. "And me and Darry got you a little something."

Sandy smiled, touching Soda's arm. "Oh, yeah," he said with that happy-go-lucky grin of his. "Me, Darry, _and_ Sandy got you something."

"You got me a present?" I asked, not quite believing it. I knew money was tight.

"Yeah," Darry said. "Go sit down in the livingroom."

I sat on the couch. Sandy sat beside me, and rested her head on Soda's shoulder. I don't see how, though, with Soda wiggling so much. Johnny sat on my other side, while Two-Bit was plopped in the floor. Dally sat in one chair with Sylvia on his lap, more for lack of space than for any romantic reason. Evie was on Steve's lap, but they were too busy making out to care about what was going on. It was kind of gross.

Darry walked out of his room with a wrapped box. He set it on my lap.

"Open it!" Soda exclaimed, bouncing around like he had ants in his pants.

I took the box and ripped the paper off, then the lid. When I saw what was in the box, I almost cried. It was a brand new pair of track shoes... the pair I'd wanted for weeks. Darry had told me they were too expensive, so I'd tried to forget about them. I'd just have to make do with my regular old tennis shoes. I knew how much those shoes were, and that my brothers and Sandy had paid dearly for them.

"B- but..."

"But nothin'!" Soda said. "Dontcha like 'em?"

"Course I like 'em!" I managed to get past the lump in my throat.

Sandy gave me a hug and smiled. "Thanks," I said, hugging her back, then hugging Soda and Darry.

"Come on!" Two-Bit said. "Food's gettin' cold!"

Good ol' Two-Bit. You can always count on him to keep you from bawlin' like a baby.

So Sodapop made me go first, since it was my party. I made a hamburger just like I like it, with mustard, ketchup, and onions. I added some chips to my plate and grabbed a Pepsi. "Y'all are the best gang a guy could have," I said.

"We know!" Two-Bit said with another gallant bow. Then, he promptly laughed his head off.

I rolled my eyes as I walked back to the livingroom to sit down and eat.

Gosh, but that hamburger was good. Soda and Darry were masters of the grill, no doubt.

Soda was eating a hotdog when Steve yelled, "Gosh, Soda! You like some food with your ketchup?"

I looked at Soda's plate. Sure enough, his hot dog was covered with ketchup, as were his chips. Soda's food philosophy is, "If you can't put chocolate in it, put ketchup on it."

I ate hurriedly, and sucked down my Pepsi. Man, that was good.

After we were all done eating, Darry grabbed the football, and off we went.

"OK," Darry said, getting everyone's attention. "We're playing tackle, but take it easy with the girls."

I looked at the girls. The only one I'd be worried about hurting would be Sandy. Sylvia and Evie are every bit as hard and tough as any of us. But Sandy's all soft and pretty... I know why Soda likes her so much. She's not like the other girls.

Soda said me and Johnnycake were the captains, so we had to pick teams. I called Darry first. It was dirty to take the only real football player, I guess. Johnny couldn't pick anybody half as good as Darry. But he called Dally. I called Soda, and Johnny picked Two-Bit. I called Steve, and Johnny called Sylvia. I finally chose Sandy, and Johnny took Evie. Steve acted annoyed that Evie was on the other team, but we told him to get over it and play.

We started on offense. Darry played center, and Sodapop was the quarterback. We all lined up and hunched down. I found myself face to face with Two-Bit, who was trying to be tough, but just couldn't help laughing and goofing off. That had me laughing, and when Darry snapped the ball to Soda, I wasn't paying attention. Dally tackled Soda before Steve could move to cover him.

The next play, I payed more attention and covered Soda long enough for him to make a long pass to Steve. Before Steve could score, Evie took him down. Unlike the guys, though, Evie just stayed where she was, sprawled on top of Steve.

"Score!" Two-Bit yelled.

Soda grinned as Sandy stepped closer to him. He put his arm around her and said, "Hey, Stevie, not in front of the kids!"

"Come on," I said, once again a little grossed out by Steve and Evie. "Let's play."

We played a good long game, and of course, with Darry on our team, we won.

Then, it started to get dark. We went back inside and settled down to watch some movie on TV. It was a James Dean movie called "Rebel Without a Cause." James Dean was tuff. There was no doubt about that. He died, though, when I was little. I really liked the movie, but I think Johnny and I were the only ones watching it. Two-Bit was working on a six-pack, and Soda could never sit still long enough to watch a movie. He was working on his third piece of chocolate cake, and goofing around with Sandy, who was trying to watch the movie, but just found Soda too distracting. Most girls find Soda distracting. Darry had fallen asleep on the couch. Dally, too, was out like a light, with Sylvia on his lap. Steve and Evie were in their own little world in the other chair.

I sighed. It was nice to be at home with all my friends around me. Very nice.

------

After the movie went off, the gang went home. Soda and I headed off to bed. I set my new track shoes on the table by the bed. I couldn't stop looking at them. I couldn't believe they were mine. "I have the best 'family' in the world," I thought.

Soda slid closer to me, putting his arm across me to keep me warm. "D'you like your party, Ponyboy?" he asked sleepily.

"Yeah," I sighed. "It was great. Thanks, Soda."

"No problem," Soda replied. "'Night, Ponyboy."

"Good night, Soda," I said, closing my eyes and slowly falling into a sleep full of dreams about track, food, and family. My whole big overgrown family.


End file.
